Some years ago, Danny Marcovich, a master luthier and guitar tech based in Amsterdam, lent me his old RN-6 (a nylon Renaissance Rick Turner). It was instant love. I never gave it back. That guitar reconnected me with nylon strings after years of playing jazz Archtop guitar. It shifted the way I composed, bringing me closer to my roots but with a modern twist. I owe a lot to that guitar.

For those of my friends who don’t know Rick, he was a giant of the modern lutherie scene, an inventor and electronic wizard. His designs were ahead of his time and if you play electric guitar you owe him a lot. Involved in the Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound, co-founder of Alembic, the mind behind Lindsey Buckingham’s (Fleetwood Mac) main guitar, President of Gibson Labs’ West Coast Research and Development, co-founder of Highlander Musical Audio to manufacture piezo pickups, working with the likes of David Crosby,…. His passing in 2022 was a profound loss for the entire guitar building community worldwide.

I once asked Danny this question. He answered: “A guitar that inspires the musician and stays in tune.” I agree!
I have a great relationship with Taylor Guitars. When I visited their factory in El Cajon, California, Terry Myers, their Product Quality Manager, handed me this cute little guitar, the Baby Taylor – BT1e, in Nashville tuning. He said, “See what you can do with this.”

So, for two weeks, I played it every night in my hotel room in San Diego. And I never gave it back. I use it to double guitars or just play solo for that charming sound.

If you’re curious, you can hear more examples of this baby on my YouTube channel.

When I joined the progrock band Inhalo, I asked Danny to find something in his atelier that I could use. He showed me an SG with a broken headstock, which he restored beautifully, adding a silver truss rod cover for me. How nice for a guitar player to have luthier in the family 🙂

It wasn’t love at first sight. But I needed those humbucker pickups to handle the overdriven power chords for my new rock-metal venture. The guitar and I had to figure out how to get along and make it work.

I had to relearn how to play. Unlike the acoustics I was used to, where you had to work to get the sound from them, with the SG, it was all about managing that raw power and noise. I had to figure out how to mute the strings I wasn’t using and control that beast.

We became best friends. I’m a musical chameleon, and with that guitar in my hands, I feel empowered. It brings out that inner strength in me. We have a lot of fun together! Wanna hear it? Go to the Inhalo project.

This was my main guitar during my jazz studies in Amsterdam. Got a great deal from a friend, and we were perfect for each other when I was all about mainstream jazz.
But over time, I started looking for new sounds. This guitar, as much as I loved it, just didn’t fit anymore. It became a toxic relationship—sometimes, you have to let go.

Now, it sits in the corner of my studio. I still grab it for a session now and then, but who knows if I’ll pick it up again.

I’m really grateful for this guitar. It helped me be part of a little piece of jazz history. My version of ‘My One and Only Love’ with her was included in The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire by Ted Gioia. 

I kept telling Danny I didn’t need any more guitars. But he kept insisting, “You need a Tele” And then, one day, he appeared with the guitar at home as a gift. When I strummed that first chord—open, spacious, and full of character… I had to admit, he was right. I needed this guitar!

We’re still getting to know each other, but I can already tell she’s going to take me to some new places. There is a sense of possibility, an adventure. Like a starting a new relationship.